Wrestlers · Career complete
Jackie Berube
1996 World silver medalist at 57 kg in Sofia; wrestled a varsity season on Wisconsin-La Crosse's men's team; USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame
Escanaba, MI · University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 23, 2026
Jackie Berube is from Escanaba, Michigan, and was a four-time high school state champion gymnast in Michigan. She started college at the University of Wisconsin-Superior and transferred to Wisconsin-La Crosse after Superior dropped women's gymnastics. At La Crosse she was an Academic All-American gymnast and double-majored in community health education and exercise science.
She grew up going to her siblings' wrestling matches. After her final year of gymnastics eligibility, La Crosse wrestling coach Greg Lonning encouraged her to try out for the men's team. She spent one varsity season on it at 118 pounds and graduated from La Crosse in 1996.
She then wrestled for the U.S. women's national team. At the 1996 World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, she won the silver medal at 57 kg, about 126 pounds. Tricia Saunders won gold at 47 kg and Kristie Davis won silver at 75 kg, and the United States placed third as a team. It was the country's first team trophy at the Senior Women's World Championships.
In 1998 she was a strength and conditioning coach at Northwestern University. There she met Tara Nott-Cunningham, who encouraged her to try weightlifting. She hoped to reach the Olympics, and women's wrestling was not yet an Olympic sport, so she chose weightlifting. She also worked at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
As a weightlifter she won six national titles and the 2005 Pan American title, and she set American records. She was an Olympic alternate in weightlifting in 2004, 2008 and 2012. In 2019 she won Pan American and world titles as a masters lifter. USA Weightlifting inducted her into its Hall of Fame in 2021, the 15th woman to enter as an athlete.
She earned a master's degree at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs in 2010.
She owns Pinnacle Weightlifting in Colorado Springs, the gym she opened in 2010, and coaches lifters there from age seven into their seventies.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Senior | World Championships, Sofia, Bulgaria | 57 kg | 2nd | Silver medal. Tricia Saunders won gold at 47 kg and Kristie Davis silver at 75 kg, and the United States placed third, its first team trophy at the Senior Women's World Championships. |
What we could not confirm
Anything not on this page, a high school record, a final score, a season, was left out because no primary source stated it when this was written. If you have a bracket, a program, or a clipping, send it to the operator, Joe Spisak, at joe@spisak.co and the page gets the number.
Sources
- https://www.themat.com/news/2019/november/20/womens-wednesday-medal-history · USA Wrestling, November 2019. Its list of U.S. women's World medals by year: 1996, Jackie Berube, silver, 57 kg.
- https://usaw-public.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/media_guides/2022+Senior+Worlds+media+guide.pdf · USA Wrestling 2022 Senior World Championships media guide. Its history of U.S. World Teams lists Jackie Berube second at 125.5 pounds at the 1996 World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.
- https://nwhof.org/news/50-u-s-women-s-wrestling-milestones-to-celebrate-50th-anniversary-of-title-ix · National Wrestling Hall of Fame. In 1996 the United States won its first team trophy at the Senior Women's World Championships, placing third in Sofia, with gold for Tricia Saunders and silver for Jackie Berube and Kristie Davis.
- https://nwhof.org/national-wrestling-hall-of-fame/women-s-wrestling-experience · National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Women in Wrestling exhibit. In 1996 in Sofia the United States won its first team trophy at the Senior Women's World Championships, and Jackie Berube won silver.
- https://www.uwlax.edu/news/posts/world-class-weightlifter/ · UW-La Crosse, November 2021. The Escanaba, Michigan, native transferred from UW-Superior, spent three years on the La Crosse gymnastics team and one year on the men's wrestling team, won 1996 World silver in Sofia and entered the USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame.
- https://communique.uccs.edu/?p=137615 · UCCS Communique, February 2022. A four-time Michigan high school state champion gymnast, she earned her UCCS master's degree in 2010, won masters world and Pan American weightlifting titles in 2019 and owns Pinnacle Weightlifting and Sports Performance in Colorado Springs.
- https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/jackie-berube · Team USA athlete profile. She competed one year on the Wisconsin-La Crosse varsity men's wrestling team at 118 pounds, won World silver in 1996 and turned to weightlifting in 1998 while coaching at Northwestern University.
- https://pinnacleweightliftingclub.com/personnel/jackie-black/ · Pinnacle Weightlifting staff page. Jackie Berube-Black coaches at and owns the Colorado Springs gym, and her record lists second place at the 1996 World Wrestling Championships.
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